Eff it good and hard.
First of all, shit is the shortest ass month. Secondly, shit is colder than a hooker’s heart.
Black History Month needs to be in August with Harlem Week. August has 31 days and then we move right into the Labor Day holiday.
Black History is fucking world history. Don’t front now and act like you don’t recognize the mother of humanity. I wouldn’t be one bit surprised if the highest mason on the planet was a Black woman. She cast the rest of her lot down to maintain her hedgemony.
Think about that for a minute and consider the fact that the two most powerful women on this planet are both Black bitches. I say bitch with only the utmost respect, of course. Between CONDOLEEZA RICE and OPRAH WINFREY you have the two most socially, politically and therefore economically influential women on the planet. That is Black history. And that is why I tell you to eff Black history in the ‘A’.
I’m just sick and tired of Black History Month always high-lighting the same motherfuckers every year. Who’s on the committee this year? Somebody better put Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s name in the running for a humanitarian award or there is gonna be some shit. Martin Luther King Jr. can’t get that award EVERY year.
The reason I’m so sick is that we have old folks leading the charge towards equity and equality like they did in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Let these folks go die somewhere and stop acting all happy that it is Black History Month. America does not give a fuck about Black History.
America was built on the basis of stolen land and free labor. Not so much stolen I suppose since the Indians did give Manhattan away for several thousands blankets laced with smallpox. The whole free labor thing isn’t entirely correct either since the gentry and the landowners paid someone for the human chattel. I’m not about to sit here and give you a fucking history lesson on chattel slavery and it’s economic impact.
No Black people give a shit about history unless they can use it to squeeze some pennies out of a corporation. Ask these same Black people to donate some of their time to volunteer efforts in their own communities and see how many people answer the bell. Stop using your Blackness to only benefit yourselves. That’s what elitists do. I’d call you self-serving negroes elitists too, if you weren’t simply jigs on the make. You are no different from the pimps, pushers, peddlers and panhandlers that you shake your heads at.
Just because you get a W-2 and you submit a report to the IRS don’t get it twisted and think that you aren’t a hustler too. The real question that I posit to all of the Blackness that reads my shit is not HOW you got your ends, but what you did with them afterwards?
Son working with the youths is crazy…hearing their perspectives on things just let’s me know I need to cake up so I can REALLY do something for them. Teaching them how to get a job and be working poor ain’t nothing.
I asked one about voting and he said he would vote for Hillary cause Obama must be a scam…just like that.
When you DO spend time, effort, and sometimes money to attempt a small difference, you get owned by some little motherfucker from Bushwick who don’t know shit….but I try anyway. I do remember that it was the richest, baddest black bitch of them all who said that when she goes into inner city schools the kids don’t want education….they want ipods.
Not their fault but we aren’t talking about the economic BENEFITS of slavery. Not. At.All.
I never learned shit during Black History Month anyway, most of these cats consider themselves to be “African-American”.
Who was it that said “being black is a state of mind?” Oh. Right.
Make your own history. Go vote.
Candice, Are you serious or just bored?
Until and unless you change the policy makers in the back rooms noting is going to change except the window dressing.
Bob Marley could have been president and nothing would have changed except a better level of weed.
Kissinger, Cheney, Rumsfield all engineered the Vietnam War and every major and minor war (read money, arms sales, power grabs drug and oil trade) since 1962. Do you think that will change if Obama sits in the oval office?
Dallas was being his old cynical, smutty, but honest self by posting this drop on HISTORY. Go read your history from Jesus to Bush then come back with that “make a change-vote brainwash” Ernie Paniccioli
tell me why at my school(08 stand up) they act like black history month doesnt exists…So me being me i ask my teachers (white) about it and most(not all)of them act like there is something wrong with havin it…i get to telling them the facts and now im a racist…smh…
im glad we still have a black history month
Ernie…..I’m totally bored but thanks for setting me straight 🙂
Knowledge of self (the individual and the collective “self”) should be an everyday affair, not something parceled and pigeonholed into a predetermined time slot. If you have to operate like that then you’re doomed to fail. Its as dumb as waiting for Valentine’s Day to tell/show that special someone you love them…
On a side comedic note – Let me find out Dallas is getting his Keanu in “Hardball” [||] on coaching the Kekembas… “I love it when you call me Big Pop-Pa!!!” Word to G-Baby.
I’m sick of knee groes thinking that a millionaire of any color and a man or redneck woman who lives in wealth and plushness can understand the horror of sleeping in the subway, not having a dentist and having to pull out your own teeth when they decay or the pain of waiting in an emergency room drenched in blood for 7 hours or being in the welfare line all day and night to get barely enough money to buy a sandwich or sitting in court looking at 3 years in a cell for stealing food to eat. Fuck all of these phony politicians. Give me one week with them in the streets and see how they gain a real sense of survival reality. Ernie Paniccioli
February is the shortest month of the year and it’s also known as the Month Of The Dead by many an ancient culture. Sound perfect for Black/African American History Month, doesn’t it?
Not to mention that during February you have a school vacation so that when you come back it’s March and all of the Black History Month shit is wiped off of chalkboard and taken down from the bulletin boards. What kinda Martin Luther King/Malcolm X/W.E.B DuBois/Booker T. Washington/George Washington Carver/Harriet Tubman/Sojourner Truth/Phyllis Wheatley/Madame C.J. Walker/Mary McLoed Buthune/Thurgood Marshall/Dorie Miller bullshit is that?
One.
Word to the Chicago Defender and Final Call.
One.
I’m participating in a local caucus tonight. we live in a predominantly minority neighborhood. I’m curious to see where the vote swings tonight.
I already know I’m votings Dems in the presidential election either way, but am curious to see how it rings out.
Am I dreaming that a Obama/Clinton or Clinton/Obama ticket in the presidential run would be a surefire winner?
Dart,
No love for the Amsterdam News or TV One?
Ernie,
Sit your no voting ass down. Do injuns even have a franchise? I thought reservations weren’t even U.S. property?
If I could vote twice I would and since I am a registered Republican I give two votes to Ron Paul because you bitches can’t handle the truth.
GObama!!!
or, of course, adopt the favorite new american pose of irony, snark and self-righteousness
How many of you are willing to support my candidate?
A person who has never lied, stolen money, cheated on his taxes nor his wife, has respect for all living beings, is against war, is not racist, is not the spitting images of a redneck Miss Ann from a cotton plantation (HILLARY) or a vacant eyed empty suit (MITT) nor a war monger (McCain)
Here is my candidate and he needs your full support. By voting for him you can help better and actually change the world:
NONE OF THE ABOVE
PS Mr. Dallas, check out Ron Paul’s stance on immigration. And Yes Native People believe there can NEVER be justice on stolen land. Support an artist, buy my books. http://www.lulu.com
Ernie Paniccioli
From The RETNA BLOG:
Little more than three decades ago an energy was beginning to form. It was found increasingly in the suburbs of the cities and in essence part of a culture that can be found even today. The energy was and still is, Hip Hop. No one has helped to launch its awareness to the world better than the legendary Hip Hop Photographer himself, Ernie Paniccioli. Before rap and hip hop videos adorned screens and airwaves all over the world, Ernie with the use of his endless drive and intuitive style of photography, was beginning to help mainstream hip hop legends like Slick Rick, Grandmaster Flash, Rock Steady Crew, Doug E. Fresh, Ice Cube, Queen Latifah, Public Enemy, Salt-N-Pepa, and so many more. He helped release the soul of hip hop and make it happen on the world.
A Native American growing up in a white man’s society, Ernie broke the barrier of stereotypes… As a young man growing up in Brooklyn in areas such as Park Slope, Bedford Stuyvesant and Flatbush in the 1970’s, Paniccioli picked up a camera for the first time and instantly converted his interest and abilities from painter to photographer. Inspired by his feelings of being cast as a second class citizen and perhaps through a gift from above, he started out by taking photographs of the graffiti that embodied the borough. Unaware to Paniccioli, he had stumbled upon his unforeseen destiny.
No one has mastered the art of photography better than Paniccioli. His work has decorated such illustrious publications as Rolling Stone, Vibe, The New York Times, Newsweek, Life, Spin and Ebony, to name a few. He has also shot for MTV and VH1 and has photos published in books, on album covers and posters throughout the globe. Paniccioli’s work has also been displayed in various exhibits such as, The New York City Urban Experience Museum where 110 pieces from his Hip Hop Gallery were displayed making it the largest one man photography show in New York City history. Some of the most famous caught by his lens include , John F. Kennedy, Jr. , Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Carter, Liza Minelli, Andy Warhol, Michael Jackson, Minister Louis Farrakhan, Michael Jordan, Britney Spears, Aaliyah, Snoop, Jay Z Run DMZ, and The Dalai Lama, the list is endless. When asked which of his photographs is his favorite, Ernie responds… “My favorite photograph is my next one.”
Along side his phenomenal career in photography, Paniccioli has found a way to inspire others. Portraying hip hop as a communication tool, he has lectured on the art and nature of hip hop at numerous universities and other forums throughout the nation. He has also been a dynamic guest speaker on hundreds of radio stations. Although some might say that Hip Hop today has fallen off its base, according to Ernie, “We need not look further than the world that surrounds us…. Hip Hop is a mirror of Society. The problem is not Hip Hop moving in the wrong direction, it’s us. We are the ones moving off track”. Paniccioli is scheduled to speak at Yale University in March 2008 and Harvard University in April 2008.
Although his success in photography has brought his talents to remarkable heights, Paniccioli has never set boundaries on his ability to branch out into other fields. “Who Shot Ya”, his first book and the only hardcover photo book to display three decades of Hip Hop photography by one photographer was packed with 210 full page color images. It earned praise from around the world, winning The New York Public Library Best Book For Teens Award 2003.
Paniccioli’s overwhelming drive and determination has lead to his most recent accomplishments: In November 2007 his 90 minute film, “Another Side of Hip Hop”, which portrays his life, art, work, photography and politics was screened for the first time at The Big Apple Film Festival and won Best Documentary 2007. It has also recently screened at The San Diego Black Film Festival. In December of 2007 he played in Oscar winning Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s play, “The Long Red Road”, at the Public Theatre. Amazingly in January of 2008 he self published five new books: “Rap Pop and Soul Headshots” Vol 1; “Rap Pop and Soul Headshots” Vol. 2; “Four Decades of Artwork By Ernie Paniccioli 1967-2007”; “Ernie Paniccioli 4 Decades of Color Artwork 1962-2007” and “Deeper”, 80 of his most powerful and astonishing pics ever, each stirring the senses with their own diverse meaning.
The accomplishments Paniccioli is most proud of encompass being chosen by KRS1 to be the spokesman for The Temple of Hip Hop at The United Nations at the Hip Hop Peace conference in May of 2001, as well as being invited to be on the steering committee of the Federation for The Preservation of Hip Hop Culture when he appeared alongside Afrika Bambaataa, KRS1, Melli Mel, Kurtis Blow, Cold Crush, Joe Conzo, Crash Crew, and many other pioneers. Paniccioli sums up his success as follows: “Creativity can be defined as creating or unleashing something different on the world. Limitations should never be set, and as an artist you must constantly strive to reinvent yourself. ”
As for his upcoming plans, Paniccioli aspires to publish another five books within the next two months, hoping to become the first person ever to publish ten books in one years time. You can find information and purchase all of Paniccioli’s books exclusively at http://www.lulu.com
Ron Paul is the truth but aint no way in hell he’d ever get as far as a vote.
Ron Paul does have a lot of good ideas, but he’s got twice as many crazy ones.
On a lighter note, I always hope that Bad Brains will find their way into some school’s Black History Month curriculum. Alas…
Ron Paul…after eight years of hell, I really can’t bring myself to trust another Republican candidate from Texas yet.
Plus he has abused and romanticized the word “revolution” to the point of Valentine’s Day puke-urge levels.
And my mother said it best: “he speaks and carries himself like a minister, not a president”.
Something fishy about that guy. About the way he talks, about the words he chooses to use and the way he uses them…and anyway – talk is nothing if you don’t back it up with action. Who’s to say that he, or any of these candidates, will actually end up doing what they say they will? And in that sense, I trust none of them. And aside from Iraq, our economy is what’s probably scaring me the most right now, but can a president really control that? A capitalist market?
Either way, we’ve been digging ourselves a huge hole for many years now, and it’s going to take more than a new democratically elected leader to get us out of it. Way to go, America.
VOTE FOR ME AND I’LL SET YOU FREE
THE GOOD FATHER PASS BY AND SAY HUMBLE YOURSELF MY CHILDREN, HUMBLE YOURSELF MY LITTLE ONES
WADADA WADADA……. FROM GARVEY’S GHOST BY BURNING SPEAR
ernie, you sound like a jaded university sophomore that just took black/chicano/native american studies 101 and decided to give up. oh wait i forgot, people who decide to vote do so out of a lame sense of ownership of opinion, not the that it actually supplements a call to action that many of us live every day. your constant disses to “the system”, even as ridiculous as it may be, come off as a temper-tantrum, fists banging the ground, demanding to have the proverbial cookie before graciously thinking rationally about the scope of this situation. it’s a bit tiresome. passion, check. rant, check. don’t click a box if you don’t want to, but at least try not to shit on the right to choose, a right that you hold of highest esteem.
voted for Obama in the GA primary today. Si se puede, beyotches!
obama got my vote as well. you know, a supplemental stance. the real work happens every day, as we are all aware.
In your country, I was less than 14%.
I wish you all the best in your upcoming elections. The eye of the world is watching and heading as you slowly loose grasp of your status as the sole superpower. For better or worse, the outcome affects us all.
Watch out for China ~ George Carlin
To Mr. or MRS THOREAULY77.thanks for the personal attack, something I’d prefer in person, but when folks hide behind an alias it is always more comfortable. I put my name on everything I write and say so we are different in that aspect as well.
JADED? When you’ve seen too much and hoped too much and tried to much and not seen any improvement without bloodshed in 60 years does that qualify you as JADED?
Two more things then I’m out:
1) It was my impression that this website was a place to dialogue and share your honest heartfelt opinion, that is what I have tried to do.
2) A textbook definition of insanity is to repeat the same things over and over and expect a different result. As in voting. Nuff said. Peace, Ernie
Ernie,
Thoreauly77 made a point that is valid and before the “dialogue” dissolves into name calling you need to examine that point.
Voting is a powerful statement to the people that control this rap shit. It says to them that they must step up their efforts to control and regulate the populace. If no one voted do you know the shenanigans that would take place out in the open? At least the unseen hand realizes that it has to come with some serious World Trade Center demolition shit to get people’s attention.
You come here to comment and dialogue and nearly every time I see you advertising your books. Are you going to use those monies to build your army, and buy your tanks? If not you might consider voting, just on the local level you may be able to get Jersey City to smell a little better. I was in your part of town on Friday for a film screening and that place smelled like ass.
I think of voting as damage control…I’m normally just making sure things don’t get too fucked up.
ernie- my name is Ian Charles Fay, and i live in Santa Barbara California, information available by clicking on my alias, Thoreauly77. Now that that is out of the way, I’m glad I got your attention. I apologize if it seemed like a personal attack, it wasn’t my intention. I think it stems from the fact that yes, you have seen a lot of insanity, and rather than saying, “yes people, get out there and try and create change in any capacity you can”, you say, “hey you dumbfucks, if you vote, you’re insane”. that simply does not fly with me, so i don’t apologize for that sentiment on my part. and yes, i do still think that it is a jaded, defeatist perspective, and the notion of your age bears little significance to the argument. giving up on a process may happen when you are 18 or 60, but it’s still giving up. when the names are blue, they are links, click mine if there are any doubts about my “alias”.
-peace and this was not written with any disrespect.
Charles, No disrespect felt. It is dialogue and from that hopefully can come ideas.
I once worked as a photographer in a Mayor’s office in a major city, and had the position of fly on the wall most of the time. I saw every type of fuckery, vote grabbing, money passing, dead people voting time after time and rewards and punishment handed out like a 3rd world country. Have had conversations with Jimmy Carter, Bill Bradley and Gov. Cuomo and Mayor Koch.
Politics to me (my humble opinion) is a game, a chess game, a power play which can lead to jobs, a healthy economy or a brutal, racist, illegal war. The choice of belief in the body politic is a personal one.
And like religion it cannot usually be argued without fraying nerves, losing friends or getting heated.
If you believe that voting can make change and that the established power structure can be affected or changed by your choice of figurehead or party then please go out and vote and rally all those you know to do likewise. Respectfully, Ernie
Dallas, Odd you dump on Jersey City.
JC may be the harbinger of where the nation is headed+-.Gang membership has grown at an alarming rate at the same time that Yuppies are invading and taking very decent apartment, drug use is up and jobs are way down.
Major corporations are taking over the land base and getting 30 year tax abatements, hospitals are closing and it is getting dangerous just to walk the streets.
All of this in a solidly Democratic stronghold where voting is considered manditory and the polls are filled for local, state and national elections, yet things continue to decline.
What do I know? I’m just a photographer who has spent way too much time listening to and photographing Hip Hop.
As far as me pushing my books and building an army with the massive funds, I’ve done 5 solid books in the past month and sold a whopping 11 books online and 2 in person.
Either folks don’t read or I need a more solid marketing strategy. Jersey City needs a revival but since folks keep voting for hacks and most of the money for social services is getting eaten up by the poverty pimps and a never ending war in Iraq we are once again in the toilet.
I’m outta here.
Peace, Ernie
I was in JC on Friday nite and Newark on Saturday afternoon and I saw the blight that I see when I travel through Baltimore and Detroit.
Is voting for a candidate to wave a magic wand over us the answer? Hell no, but if you came out of your house last night what you would have seen is that people are motivated for change. The inertia is building. Going to the polls allows you to see your neighborhood and community as a whole and this was something that we have avoided as Americans for far too long.
You can’t take your frustration to the streets if you never leave your house.
Dallas,
In the past three years I have traveled and lectured and looked and smelled and tasted more of this nation than I did in the preceding 55 years.
I just got back from the San Diego Black Film Festival and I am not sitting alone in my room mumbling, I feel, see sense what is going on.
As I go into my 61st year on this planet my perceptions are different than they were at 20,30,40 or even 50. Why do I feel I am arguing with Jehovahs Witnesses or Mormons when I simply state my disillusion and my fervent belief that we as a nation are past the time when there is a (to quote you-magic wand) easy fix and that a personality, leader, elected poobah or self announced Guru will in any way, shape or form actually matter.
Hopefully I am wrong and a woman (redneck poseur carpetbagger of not) or a monied Black or a Mormon or a war hero/hawk/ war lover or a Huckabee or even a Fuckabee will make a difference and we will all be saved.
Dallas, I love you(II) and this website and the motley and varied voices on it but do not feel I deserve to be considered a cur or like a gnarly drunk uncle for stating what I believe is the truth. Ernie
We love you too Ernie [ll].
Never a cur…
sometimes a curmudgeon.
yes, this is a motley crew (crue?). but a good one. and one that even when pissed off and sanctimonious (me at times), does listen.
Please come over to my blog and check out my stance on “Ghetto Month.”
L